In Singapore, diesels are only allowed for commercial vehicles and taxis.

If the authorities in Singapore are asked about diesels, the official line would probably be emissions. But these days, highly tuned and well developed diesels like in the 530d are actually cleaner than petrol driven engines. (just compare the emissions specs of the 530d vs 530i)

In Singapore, diesel fuel is considerably cheaper than regular petrol, mainly due to less tax (in Singapore, over 70% of the cost of petrol is tax). So Taxis and buses are cheaper to operate, and since the government controls all the major transportation companies, it means bigger profits for them. Yes, unlike more western countries, Singapore's public transport companies are very profit driven.

Also, the transport workers form a large part of the main union in Snigapore which is also controlled by the government. Keeping the costs of public transport down vs private car ownership + bigger profits for the transport companies make the workers happy and hence the union can and is used as a powerful political tool.

 

Adm,

Sounds like a very nice car, and a good deal. I'm based in London and am just about to take the plunge on a 530d.

I would be really interested, if it's not too impolite, to know how much of a discount you managed to negotiate, in % terms. If you are ok with this, but don't want to do it on the forum, I'll post my email address.

Thanks,

Andrew

 

A month ago I ordered a 530D auto Silver Gray with Black Leather for April, the wait is killing me.

It's fun seeing what people pick on their cars and why, everyone has different priorities. Here's what I picked

Heated Seats (leather is so cold on frosty mornings)
Bluetooth Telephone (one of the first options I'd pick now that mobiles are illegal in uk)
Dimming and folding Mirrors (this should really be standard on a car of this spec)
Xenon Head Lights (have them on my current bm, essential for me)
Through Load System (handy on my current car)
6 CD Changer (wouldn't be without one now)
Professional Radio (supposed to allow MP3 playback with this option)
Steering Wheel Heating (for frosty scottish mornings)
Comfort Seats (they're really comfy
Maple Wood Trim (titanium looks dull to me)
Extended Lights (neat little light under the door mirrors)
Servotronic Steering (needed for DD)
Dynamic Drive (loved it in test drive)
Space Spacer (for when I put cheap winter rims on and/or get rid of run flats for better ride)
18" Alloys (style 123, was pushing my budget as it is

All that adds up to over ?41k list in uk, I'd like some other options like nav, active steering, Logic 7, active climate control, the list is endless :-)

 

You should come over to UK & see how much tax the government puts on petrol over here....

The 2 petrol station outside my house (ESSO) is charing 74.9 pence/litre for Unleaded/Deisel !!!!!!

 

our petrol costs abt 39 pence/litre for unleaded but i would bet your cars do not cost as much as over here in S'pore! A basic 530i costs about 80,500 pounds....

 

Hi,

You got Bluetooth, but without Nav? I thought this was not possible?


eggz

 

Depends which country you are in I guess, in the UK it's a stand alone option

 

To be honest, I don't know the exact discount. It's a company car, so I'm only interested in the monthly payments. It's ?540 a month. One month rental up front.

The leasing company did all the dealer negotiations for me - it was just under ?41K list, and I've had quotes for similar value cars (BMW, Merc, Audi, Lexus anything up to ?800 per month. I was also looking at the Merc E320 and it was ?250 a month more for a car that is in my opinion not quite as good.

 

Adm,

Thanks for replying - that does put things into perspective for me - I was thinking of financing a purchase with the sale of my existing car @ 1/3 and 2/3 via a personal loan. The best discount I could find, for a to order car, was just under 6%.

Is the price you are paying a personal lease, so includes VAT (I presume that is how it works for a company car if you take an allowance for it)? If so, I would be interested in getting contact details for the leasing company.

Thanks again.

Andrew

 

It's interesting that some of you have to pay extra for options that are standard in the US. All rear and side mirrors are auto dimming. However, we don't have folding mirrors, which I would REALLY have liked to have. Strange, because the E39 had them. Also, the lights under the mirrors are standard in the US.